Charlene Grandberry cheers as volunteer Amin Maffett, 10, carries a box full of hygiene products for her during an Americans Feeding Americans event. New Bethel Temple partnered with Feed the Children to provide 3,200 families with food and hygiene products in the Liberty Bowl parking lot.

Volunteer David Williams carries several boxes full of food and hygiene products for cousin Patricia Williams during the "Americans Feeding Americans" event in the Liberty Bowl parking lot Wednesday. The food was brought in by truck to aid 3,200 people.

Maya Spruille, 11, tries to get a good grip so she doesn't drop a food box while volunteering Wednesday in the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium parking lot with best friend Kennedy Anderson, 10, during an "Americans Feeding Americans" event.

Edward Wordlaw was at the "Americans Feeding Americans" event near Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Wednesday to pick up food and health care items for an 80-year-old neighbor in his Orange Mound community.

Landra Jones has taken in several foster children and needs some help feeding them.

Chris Rodgers had recently been injured on his construction job and said the gifts were welcome.

They were among several thousand needy Memphians on Lot 24 for the event, a partnership between the international Feed the Children organization and the New Bethel Temple on Park.

The church organized more than 200 volunteers who walked the recipients through the line to pick up a box of food staples, another full of hygiene products -- toothbrushes, toothpaste and such -- and a third box of vanity items donated by Avon Products.

The volunteers then took the boxes to the cars of the recipients.

"This is helping out big time," said Rodgers, 42, of East Memphis. "I got hurt on the job and had to have surgery."

Early Wednesday, eight Feed the Children 18-wheelers rolled into the Midtown site with enough for 3,200 people. Needy families were identified through a variety of agencies and given vouchers.

A late-afternoon surge of recipients cleared out the few boxes remaining by 4:30 p.m.

Memphis was one of 24 major U.S. cities to get a visit from the Feed the Children trucks.

"We did research who was hardest hit (by the poor economy), where there was the most unemployment," said Susan Ojeil, a Feed the Children representative. Memphis has an unemployment rate of about 11 percent, and one in five children go to bed hungry, she said.

"A lot of these people didn't think they'd be in this situation," she said. "This is to give them some relief, let them know they are not forgotten."

As a church pastor, Litzsey has heard numerous stories of Memphians losing jobs or having their jobs move overseas.

He noted that recipients and volunteers were "from every race and class."

"Eyes are meeting eyes, saying that we're here for each other," Litzsey said.

Volunteers came from Balmoral Elementary; Balmoral Presbyterian Church on Quince, which adopted Balmoral school; National College business school; and other churches.

"This is a way to be part of something to give back to the community without it being a holiday," said retired Memphis Police deputy chief Edwin Henderson, who volunteered. "It's festive, easygoing and exciting."

Erika Castro got involved through her medical terminology class at National College, which is taught by Litzsey's wife, Lakisha.

"This is my first time as a volunteer," said the 23-year-old student. "It feels good helping others."